Reform was the most troublesome thing.
Every unified Feudal Dynasty saw people attempt reforms in its middle and later stages.
Yet even the most successful only extended the dynasty's lifespan by a few decades. In the end, the accumulated problems became impossible to reverse, and another cycle of order and chaos began.
Yuan Shi's rebellion was merely a prelude.
Only afterward did Lu Zhi, the Lu Empress Dowager, understand where the true trouble lay.
Right beneath her feet, within and beyond the capital.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Liu Landlord outside the capital had his thugs smash up the Western-style School in the town, claiming it violated the laws of the ancestors."
"Wang Scholar mocked those studying Western Learning as wastrels who could not pass the Imperial Examination, sparking a conflict."
"A group of old scholars banded together and knelt before the statue of the Sage, weeping as they accused students of Western Learning of forgetting their roots and betraying their ancestors."
"Are they all sick?" Lu Zhi could not understand what these people were thinking.
Had their interests truly been harmed? No. No one was taking their land, nor raising their taxes.
No one dared raise their heads to answer.
"Leave." Lu Zhi waved them away.
Furball answered her question. "People always habitually hide in their comfort zones. It's like how modern programmers argue over programming languages. Everyone hopes the language they are proficient in will become widespread, so they will not have to bear the cost of learning something new."
Lu Zhi fell silent.
Only then did she understand where the true resistance lay. There were simply not many people, from the court on down, who needed Western Learning.
Unless the pain reached their bones, people's hearts would not change. They would always choose the easiest path.
Just as